S T A N F O R D M E D I C I N E

Volume 16 Number 4, SUMMER 1999


STANFORD
MEDICINE
,
published quarterly by Stanford University Medical Center, aims to keep readers informed about the education, research, clinical care and other goings on at the Medical Center.

 

For the special section for Alumni, click on the link below:
STANFORD
MD

 

 

 

 

Dear Friends,

WE HAVE EMBARKED ON AN EXCITING EFFORT TO UPDATE AND STREAMLINE OUR EDUCATION PROGRAM. A CURRICULAR REFORM PROJECT OF THIS SCALE, AND IT IS TRULY MONUMENTAL, IS UNPRECEDENTED FOR THE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE SINCE OUR MOVE 40 YEARS AGO FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO OUR LOCATION HERE IN PALO ALTO. This period has brought tremendous change in the fields of clinical medicine and biomedical research: Our knowledge base has exploded, preferred pedagogical methods have evolved, and both the delivery and financing of health care have undergone a metamorphosis. The stakes are too high simply to cross our fingers and hope that piecemeal adjustments will prove sufficient. For this reason, the school has launched a coordinated plan to modify its curriculum. We have given ourselves a deadline of the 2000-2001 academic year to reach our goal.

 

HERE IS WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS SO FAR:

1. A faculty committee has nearly completed its design for a new graduate core curriculum.

2. We have made great headway in reorganizing and improving student services, including financial aid, advising and admissions.

3. We have begun to create several five-year programs and joint degrees to address the need for in-depth scholarship and critical thinking. We are creating five-year programs that will focus on such areas as life science research, the arts and humanities, or public service, and we are exploring joint degrees in medicine and business, law or engineering.

4. We are planning the creation of a program to develop faculty as teachers and promote excellence in teaching.

HERE IS WHAT REMAINS TO BE DONE:

1. We must pare down the medical curriculum, both clinical and preclinical, to eliminate redundancies.

2. We must incorporate new teaching methods and address the need for teaching in a variety of settings.

3. We must integrate the training of our medical students with those pursuing PhDs to increase the depth of knowledge of our medical students and to expose the PhD students to clinical experiences.

 

I have assembled a group of faculty to serve as the steering committee to formulate recommendations for changes to the curriculum. My thanks to those who have graciously agreed to serve. I am convinced that if we as a school begin to move cohesively, we can complete curricular reform for implementation in the 2000-2001 academic year. Such an aggressive timetable is essential if we are to maintain our stature as a premier educational institution.

 

To learn about some of our school's interesting -- and in some cases unique -- educational offerings, read on in this issue of Stanford Medicine. You'll find out about our growing use of professional actors, who pose as patients to help us teach and test our students; a fiction-writing workshop designed to spark discussion of ethics in medical practice and research; our popular ob/gyn course known unofficially as "mommies and babies," which pairs a medical student with an expectant mother for the course of the pregnancy; and a new class introducing our students to the rapidly growing field of travel medicine.

 

Cordially yours,

EUGENE A. BAUER, MD

Vice President for Medical Affairs

Dean, Stanford University School of Medicine